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About The IGF

IndieGames.com is presented by the UBM TechWeb Game Network, which runs the Independent Games Festival & Summit every year at Game Developers Conference. The company (producer of the Game Developers Conference series, Gamasutra.com and Game Developer magazine) established the Independent Games Festival in 1998 to encourage innovation in game development and to recognize the best independent game developers.

The feature challenges players who have formed expectations of how puzzles are typically solved in video games. As an example, players might assume that some points in Toki Tori 2 are unreachable until a new item is earned later in the game -- a mechanic featured throughout Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda series.

"But as they continue they'll start to notice no tools are being handed out," Two Tribes notes. "Instead, we teach the player more about the creature that was standing next to the seemingly impossible to reach collectible. It turns out it was possible all along, and he could have figured it out himself by experimenting a bit more with the creature."

The result? "The more curious the player becomes, the more the game will reward him for it."

It's an interesting approach that could keep the game's simple mechanics fresh throughout. Two Tribes analyzes other unique aspects of the game's design at its blog, including its open level progression and the team's decision to eliminate items and weapons from the sequel.